The fourth edition of Mr. Carl Crow's "Handbook for China" has just been published by Messrs. Dodd, Mead & Ca,, of New York and is on sale here at $5 per copy. The handbook gives information, on every possible subject of interest and use to the traveller in China, and many "old hands" here may. learn' much from it, and certainly} both old hands and' new will fi it an extraordinarily absorbing. book. historical Sketch gives a general idea of the growth of China from the time of the semimythical first emperor Fuh Hai, who, according to Chinese history, ruled about the time of the Flood —because of that and other legends some Europeans think that probably Noah is the character really referred to—up to the time of the Imperial Edict of 1912 which announced the abdication of ths infant Emperor and appointed Yuan Shih-kai to carry out the establish ment of the Republican form of, government. Further on in the book is found under the heading. of 'The Government of China' a history of the Chinese Republican, Government starting with the results of the Imperial Edict. Of Since the overthrow of the Manchus thers have been two abortive attempts,
Yerumens, one by Shidiekal who, restore a I form of goperial line, and pare restore ths Manchi line, these occasions the cppositian of the Chinese people was so determined and sul spoken ae to indicate that the all Form of government is sgone forever that the political future of China wilt be worked out along moder lines father than the ancient and Oriental. But were the "people" ever it? One would rather say that, the militarists and politicians, having learnt what profits there were in a "Republic," were determined to prevent any attempt to restore the controlling power of a throne, Mr. A, de C. Sowerby, contributes a long article on the Flora and Fauna of China" which naturally varied and extensive over such a ide area as is covere} by this country. In a section called the "Art and Industries of China" Mr. Crow gives a. interesting account jewellery, which incidentally contains some useful hints. For example The Chinese rank jade as the most precious of stones and one who pis to purchase n pice of prized the fied it as expensive aaa equal "The mie grees. Tmo! $0 popular amon se Chinese satisfy forcizn tastes a re moderate prices. Much artificial jade is made in Germany and ehrysoptale from Siberia is sold as Jade Some of the carved ornaments offered jade are made of a greenish: whits Soapstone. This particular fraud may.
tected, for real jade ward to be scratched with a knife, while. soapstone Is) very soft. Detec" tive pieces of jade are often filled with lax and. thus made to pass muster precious stones are. sold in China. Very rarely will the beads on. "mat dsrin chains" be. of. real-atones. resin which Will crumble into dust with age. may be useful to know that the goldsmith Shop inside any And' thus binds himself. te. repureh the please at any time by weight, with on: questioning the quality of the metal, One rather wonders" what a Nanking Road jeweller would say if one began scratching his jade, Following the paras articles already—mentioned others which include some on Chinese customs, festivals, means of travel available to foreigners, and a long article on the religions China, the second half of the book is "devoted to a graphic €escription of all the provinces of the Yangtze Valley and their chief cities, Peking and Northern China, and Hongkong and Southern China,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.